Spatial Frame of Reference

This topic refers to people's frame of reference as a result of their sense and use of space and distance. Here, we seek to understand how people communicate among themselves through structuring and regulating space or distances. Our concerns are: How is "space" conceived, organized, used, and interpreted in different cultures? How do people conceptualize and use space in human communication?

To address these concerns, we can first consider the four basic types of distance that people often maintained and are often discussed in intercultural communication study in the U.S. They are intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. Note that this discussion is based on research done on Americans in the U.S. and our description may or may not be consistent with people's sense of space in Taiwan or many other cultures in the world.

Intimate distance (between zero and 18 inches) usually refers to the distance whereby two individuals engage in intimate activities (e.g., sex) or share information of utmost personal nature.

Personal distance (18 inches to four feet) is the distance over which two individuals may disclose about themselves. Considered the normal spatial range in the West, this is a distance that signals a more established relationship (e.g., between friends). People in the West often maintain this distance at such social settings as a party or in the office.

Social distance (4 to 12 feet) embodies a space wherein people talk about things that are not of a personal nature. For example, this is the normal distance between a professor and her students in a typical American classroom or among colleagues at a corporate meeting. Because of the relatively larger distance between interactants in such a social space, non-verbal communications such as eye contact or more pronounced body gesture become more important.

Public distance (12 feet and farther) is maintained mostly for impersonal interaction or exchange in large group settings, such as during public speeches, mass political rallies, and so on.

While people use different types of distance for different practical matters (e.g., to convey a personal secret within the intimate distance or to express one's anger about a social issue at a mass rally), they also use space to signify, enhance, or enforce different social relations. How people are "placed" among themselves in specific settings, for example, is often an indication of their respective places in the social hierarchy. Edward T. Hall called 4 to 7 feet the close phase of social distance and 7 to 12 feet the far phase of social distance. Accordingly, social relationship between people is measured by the distance between them in such a context (e.g., the closer you are allowed to sit near your boss at meetings, the higher the rank you tend to maintain within the corporation).

Another interesting example is the fact that in many cultures people in subordinate roles, such as lower-rank managers in a corporation or members in a younger generation within a large extended family, are expected to place themselves "behind" their superiors, such as the corporation's chief executive officer or the head of the extended family, respectively, as if the superiors are leading the way. It is similar to the practice of placing people in the center of photographs (that is, the line-up's focal point) to signify their relative importance.

Note that I emphasized in the above that our discussion so far is based on research in the U.S. The important fact of the matter is that different cultures have different senses of space and distance. For example, "space" in the Arab world is generally much closer to "space" in the Western world and even more so than cultures in Asia. Based on my own reading of the literature, I did two informal experiments with a Japanese student and an Arab professional colleague on two separate occasions. Both of them are male. They were not aware of my experiment.

On both occasions, I subtly moved closer to them during our conversation. My Japanese student stepped back from me, seemingly instinctively, every time I approached within a distance of about three feet (or around one meter). What is also interesting to note is that he would move back to his former location, also seemingly instinctively, if and when I moved back to my former location. In other words, he maintained a constant space between us but it was a distance that he felt comfortable to him. On the other hand (and occasion), my Arab colleague never backed off. I moved closer and closer and at one point we were so close that our shoulders touched. He never seemed to react to the increasingly close space my move was creating, nor did he seem to feel uncomfortable with it.
Ultimately, it is important that we are aware of the spatial frame of reference of people with them we are communicating. Our discussion in this context can only refer to the general. No two individuals are identical in all aspects of life and this principle (or assumption) is applicable to people's spatial sense. "Experiment" and find out for yourself as you begin a communication session with someone new to you. See how he or she "reacts" or relates to the space you are crafting between the two of you. The key is, if the person "backs off," you ought not approach further. Likewise, observe to see how people (say, when you are overseas) arrange themselves spatially. Let them arrange your space (or "place") in whatever social context you are in with them. Of course, your foreign guests should, and most likely would, appreciate you a great deal if you can share with them our local knowledge in reference to your culture's spatial frame of reference.